Emergency crews work the scene of a house fire at the intersection of 11th and Main streets Thursday morning.
(Jeff Shane/ Daily Record)

Raven Shiningstar, 59, woke up Thursday morning to a wall of fire inside her home.

The fire in her two-story duplex apartment was so hot, and so close, it singed her hairnet and burned and blistered her ears. Shiningstar was treated and released from St. Thomas More Hospital. She and her daughter, Destiny Thrap, and grandson, Harley, 6, who were visiting from Colorado Springs, escaped the home before the blaze engulfed its contents.

Firefighters were dispatched Thursday at 8:24 a.m. Chad Barr and Gary Misenhimer each were on their way to business appointments when they noticed smoke coming out of the home at 1102 Main St.

"There were kids standing around the front door, so I stopped and got them away because I knew the glass would blow out of the house," Barr said. "It's good to stop and help someone in need when they need it. It could have turned out a lot worse."

The men, along with other passersby, helped residents evacuate the duplex, and tried to help get out the pets, as well.

"Anybody should stop and help somebody else," Misenhimer said.

Fire officials believe the fire originated from a floor furnace, and damage was contained to the apartment of origin.

"I had a smoke alarms, but they didn't go off," Shiningstar said. "I think the batteries had died."

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Shiningstar lost all of her furniture, clothing, personal identification information, her scooter - her only form of transportation and her hospital bed that she needed to sleep in an upright position for health reasons. She also lost her 9-month-old pit bull mix dog, Rosie.

"She tried to get out, but the backdoor was already locked and she couldn't get through the fire," she said. "She tried to go through the fire and she didn't make it. She was my partner -- my best friend."

Rosie's brother, Mojo, did escape the fire.

"I want to think all of the firefighters and the people who stopped to help," Shiningstar said. "I really appreciated it."

Shiningstar is staying in a vacant apartment just behind her gutted home, also owned by her landlord.

Businesses who would like to set out donation jars to help Shiningstar are invited to do so. Shiningstar also is in need of food, cooking utensils, dishes, silverware, towels, soap, toiletries, a hospital bed, blankets, dog food, pillows, a phone and cash. Contributions may be dropped off directly to her at 104 S. 11th (behind Wendy's) or at the Daily Record, 701 S. Ninth St., during regular business hours.